Wad Medani

Town and capital of El Gezira State, Sudan, situated on the Blue Nile approximately 160 km/99 mi southeast of Khartoum; population (1993 est) 219,000. It lies south of the confluence of the Blue Nile with the Rahad River (Bahr ar-Rahad) at a junction of road and rail routes, and is the centre of the rich Gezira irrigated agricultural area which produces cotton, vegetables and cereals. The market is an important trading centre for the local agricultural region, and the city manufactures cigarettes and retreaded tyres. It is also the home of the Irrigation Service and of the University of Gezira, which was founded in 1975.